Carnegie Hall

“I shall never write a symphony,” Johannes Brahms once said to a friend. “You have no idea how the likes of us feel when we hear the tramp of a giant like him behind us.” That giant was Beethoven, and Brahms felt a distinct pressure as his natural successor. He, of course, wasn’t entirely true to his word, but he did spend decades refining his symphonic technique before finally premiering his first symphony at the age of 43.

Like much of his oeuvre, Brahms’s four symphonies are notable for their synthesis of both Classical forms and Romantic motifs. Structurally rigorous and dedicated to Classical masters like Mozart and Haydn, Brahms built on the scaffolding of Classical composition with innovative stylistic deviations and the influence of the early Romantics.

Ahead, explore our guide to the cycle, familiarize yourself with the history behind these monumental works, and listen to excerpts performed by conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin; the complete works are available for on-demand viewing on Carnegie Hall+.

Brahms was known for his obsessive perfectionism and relentless high standards, and his first symphony was no exception. He reported that its composition took 21 years from start to finish. He also dragged his feet when it came to publishing the work, testing it out on audiences several times and making tweaks before finally delivering the manuscript to his publisher, Fritz Simrock.

This symphony is sometimes known as “Beethoven’s Tenth,” a nickname coined by conductor Hans von Bülow largely because of similarities to the “Ode to Joy” theme in Beethoven’s Ninth. Brahms resented his portrayal in this comparison and famously commented that “any ass can see” the homage to Beethoven.

The only of Brahms’s symphonies to use a formal introduction, Symphony No. 1 also incorporates orchestral sonata form, a violin solo in the slow movement, and a melody in the final movement inspired by an Alpine shepherd’s song.

In contrast to the lengthy development of his first symphony, Brahms composed his Symphony No. 2 in a single summer during a visit to Pörtschach am Wörthersee, a lakeside resort town in Austria. The countryside is an apt setting for the work: Moments of pastoral sparkle are occasionally troubled by clouds.

Light and dark followed the symphony even through its composition, during which Brahms referred to it as “the lovely monstrosity.” Partly in jest, he wrote to Simrock that “the new work is so melancholy that you will not be able to bear it. I have never written anything so sad [...].” On the contrary, after listening to the new symphony, Brahms’s friend Theodor Billroth described it as “all blue sky, babbling of streams, sunshine and cool green shade.”

Both assessments could be said to contain a bit of truth: Ominous tones from the timpani and trombones in the first movement color the ensuing lightness, which comes through in mischievous dances and peaceful melodies, including one that’s often compared to Brahms’s famous “Wiegenlied” (“Lullaby”).

The Symphony No. 3 was composed six years after No. 2, and with good reason: Brahms created several of his most masterful and enduring works during the period in between the two, including his Violin Concerto and the Academic Festival Overture.

The symphony begins with a statement of three chords: F–A-flat–F, the source from which the rest of the symphony flows. These notes are widely thought to represent Brahms’s personal motto, frei aber froh (“free but happy”), a commitment to independence and an adaptation of violinist Joseph Joachim’s cipher F-A-E, frei aber einsam (“free but lonely”).

Composed in Wiesbaden, the symphony is often associated with the Rhine, a connection that is deepened by a secondary theme in the opening movement and its similarities to a phrase in Robert Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony. Thematically rich, the work makes use of many suggestive allusions and quotations, including nods to Wagner’s “Siren’s Chorus” from Tannhäuser, Liszt’s “Die Loreley,” and Romani folk music.

The Fourth is the only of Brahms’s symphonies to end in a minor key—a rarity for a symphony of this period—and is usually considered the darkest and most tragic. Technically incredibly complicated while remaining exacting and succinct at the phrasal level, many critics consider it the pinnacle of his symphonic achievements.

However, not everyone responded to the new work with pure adulation. After attending an early performance of the work for two pianos, critic Eduard Hanslick (otherwise an admirer of Brahms) attested that the first movement made him feel “as if I were being beaten by two terribly clever people.” Brahms himself worried about how the work would be received, perhaps understanding that its complexity and deviation from the public’s expectations for a symphony might leave listeners in the cold; the Fourth, however, remains well-loved and often performed.

Dense and intricate, Symphony No. 4 is ripe for repeat listening. It is heavily allusive to works by Beethoven, J. S. Bach, and R. Schumann, and leaves much to discover. Despite his appraisal of the first movement, Hanslick also said expressively of the work, “It is like a dark well; the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back.”

Photography: Brahms from Wikimedia Commons